Reducing U.S. Dependence on Middle Eastern Oil

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Features/NationalSecurity/bg1926.cfm

In this article I learned that the biggest oil importer in the world is the U.S., importing an astounding 13.5 million barrels per day. 17% of our oil imports are from the Persian Gulf. This reliance on the Middle East leaves a vulnerability to both economical and political intimidation.
The U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil is a National Security Threat because 68% of our oil will be imported by 2025. This is a National Security Threat because many of these countries that hold power over our oil are have large amounts of corruption within them. This oil market is also a danger to the U.S.'s suppliers, the market is completely unstable, and there is no room for mistakes. The day that an oil importer in Saudi Arabia was attacked oil prices rose by $2 and the attack wasn't even a success, though 4 people were killed.
Oil can be used as a weapon; the countries that do and have controlled our oil understand that we depend on it greatly. Terrorist have found the weapon in boycotting oil and intimidated the U.S. with that action.
Middle Eastern countries and Arab leaders thoroughly understood the U.S.'s need for oil long before the extreme focus on oil came about. They predicted our transfer of oil importation sources to them once our other oil locations dried up or ran low. This understanding alone was a threat at the time that was not recognized.
The biggest oil exporter in the world is Saudi Arabia, but they are also the ones with the most unused oil that is still available to them, in this time and day that makes Saudi Arabia a powerful country, for one day they may control the last of the oil. The world could last a couple decades on their oil if they were to increase production, maybe giving enough time for alternative fuels to be discovered and put into action.
Iraq was allowed by the U.N. to once again export oil due to the end of Saddam's rule. Although this seems good at first for the U.S., perhaps a friend to import from, this is not the full story. Not only does this help with more oil production for the very much oil dependent U.S. but it also crippled production from what it could be today had the war been better funded and prepared for defending Iraq against the current terrorism, sabotage, and violence.
In this article three things are offered that may help the U.S. with Middle Easter oil dependency. One: getting ready for failure of the oil regimes, two: creating a friendly bond with Persian Gulf states, and three: spreading the locations from which the U.S. imports oil.

Things I would like to know after reading this article:

1. What does quasi-monopolistic mean?
2. What are radical Wahhabis?
3. How long will it take before the diversified U.S. oil runs out?
4. What does contingencies mean?
5. If the United States is importing this muchy oil, on a global veiw what doe other countries see us as, do they interprate our oil use as a greedy quality?
6. Did the United States' dissagreement with Venazuela affect the ammount of oil imported from there, therefore creating more fall back on the Middle East?
7. Although the United States disagreed with Russia what are their incentives for still supplying us with oil?
8. Does the use of oil as a weapon create more of a push to find a solutoin our oil dependency in the Middle East or has it always been put on the same level as all the other threats of oil dependency?
9. How could the U.S. be better equipt today to create better conditions to help in the production of oil and importation from Iraq?